1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aerial survey plane having a cover for protecting a lens of an infrared camera for an aerial survey, and more particularly, to an aerial survey plane having a damage protecting cover for preventing a damage to a photographic lens of an infrared camera, which is used for an aerial survey, externally exposed from the aerial survey plane.
2) Background of Related Art
Aerial survey is a method of collecting geomatics or planimetric features of a remote area, and should be distinguished from satellite surveys because of its better resolution.
The aerial survey obtains an image of a target location or a target region with respect to various ranges such as a visible wave range, an infrared wave range and a radio wave range.
To this end, an opening or a protrusion of a predetermined size is formed on a predetermined area of a plane (including a fixed wing and a rotary wing), for example, a part of a fuselage to install various cameras to obtain desired images.
The most basic method of photographing is to externally expose a camera of the aerial survey plane (called “plane”) to obtain the desired image, and because this method is very vulnerable to unpredictable situations such as vibrations or sudden shaking of the plane, this method is only used when the aerial survey is performed as a hobby.
For other methods, various supporters are installed on an external surface of the plane and the aerial survey camera is fixed to the supporter, but because of the variation of the center of gravity of the plane due to the uneven distribution of weight, controlling the plane may be more difficult.
Therefore, for a stable aerial survey, the aerial survey camera is installed at a center of a bottom part of the fuselage of the corresponding plane.
For a smooth operation of the aerial survey camera, an opening is preferably formed in the bottom part of the corresponding plane.
In addition, the lens unit of the aerial survey camera is preferably installed while facing the ground surface or the water surface through the opening.
In this case, because the aerial survey is performed at a high altitude instead of a low altitude to increase the efficiency of surveying a large area in a short period of time, a device for protecting the camera from cold air or sudden foreign materials is required when moving from the low altitude to the high altitude or vice versa.
In this case, in general, because the weather at low altitudes is bad, an outer surface, especially a lens surface of the aerial survey camera may be damaged because of the bad weather when ascending from the low altitude to the high altitude or descending from the high altitude to the low altitude.
In addition, the aerial survey is normally performed by flying back and forth along a predetermined track as if plowing in a farm, and because the turning radius is considerably large, the amount of time that the camera is exposed to the external atmosphere is also considerably long.
As described, the outer surface of the aerial survey camera may be damaged due to a locally bad weather even when the camera is exposed while the aerial survey plane is rotating.
Further, the outer surface of the aerial survey camera may be damaged by foreign materials such a sand from a runway when the plane takes-off or lands for the aerial survey. Therefore, a device for protecting the outer surface of the aerial survey camera of the plane is required.
For reference, although the aerial survey camera used in the aerial survey plane of the present invention employs an infrared camera, various cameras other than the infrared camera can also be used for the aerial survey, and aerial surveys may use the camera to photograph the ultraviolet wave range or a conventional optical camera to photograph the visible wave range. In this case, for example, a surface of the lens of an image collecting unit of the aerial survey camera is handled with caution such that scratches do not occur.
Hereinafter, a method of using the aerial survey infrared camera in the aerial survey plane according to the related art will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.
FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view illustrating an example of the aerial survey plane having the aerial survey infrared camera, FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view illustrating a bottom structure of the aerial survey plane illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view illustrating the aerial survey infrared camera installed in the aerial survey plane according to the related art.
According to FIG. 1, an aerial survey plane 100 of the related art mainly includes a main wing 110, a fuselage 120, a horizontal tail wing 160 and a vertical tail wing 170. An auxiliary support 115 may be further formed between the main wing 110 and the fuselage 120 to reinforce strength.
In addition, a flap, an aileron 112 and an elevator 162 to assist a flight may be further formed on the main wing 110 and the tail wing 160.
The aerial survey plane 100 essentially further includes a propeller 125 to provide power during flight, but a method of providing power during flight is not limited to the propeller 125.
On the bottom surface 130, which constitutes a lower surface of the fuselage 120, landing gears 150, 152 and 154 are formed to help the landing and the take-off of the aerial survey plane 100. On the landing gears 150, 152 and 154, as described above, landing gear covers 151, 153 and 155 may be further provided, respectively, to actively prevent scattering of various fragments from occurring during the landing and the take-off of the aerial survey plane 100.
In this case, damage to the lens surface of the aerial survey infrared camera, which is installed in the aerial survey plane 100, may be actively prevented.
In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, an aerial survey observation window 140, on which the aerial survey infrared camera (not illustrated) is mounted, having a predetermined size is provided on the bottom surface 130 of the aerial survey plane 100.
The size of the aerial survey observation window 140 is standardized with a large diameter of 19 inches (48.26 cm) and a small diameter of 8 inches (20.32 cm). Therefore, there may be two types of covers to open and cover the aerial survey observation window 140.
Meanwhile, the aerial survey infrared camera (not illustrated) faces the ground surface or the water surface in the aerial survey observation window 140.
Even though the present invention describes that the aerial survey infrared camera (not illustrated) faces the ground surface or the water surface, the present invention is not limited thereto and the aerial survey infrared camera (not illustrated) may be disposed while facing an opposite direction of the ground surface or the water surface.
Meanwhile, according to FIG. 3, the aerial survey infrared camera 200 may be installed on a part of the fuselage 120, that is an opening formed on the bottom surface of the aerial survey plane 100.
In FIG. 3, a reference numeral 220 may be a lens externally exposed from the aerial survey infrared camera 200.
In addition, the aerial survey infrared camera 200 may be fixedly installed on the fuselage 120 through a supporting plate 240. In this case, shock absorbing units 250 and 260 having elasticity are preferably installed between the supporting plate 240 and the fuselage 120.
The shock absorbing units 250 and 260 preferably use a rubber material for elasticity, and more preferably use a synthetic rubber material by taking severe environments into consideration.
In addition, the supporting plate 240 and the shock absorbing units 250 and 260 are preferably fixed by bolts 252 and 262.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, because the lens 220 of the aerial survey infrared camera 200 is externally exposed, as described above, the outer surface of the lens may be damaged from various foreign materials.
As related arts, there is Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0042418 (Published on May 15, 2008, Apparatus for protecting camera of heavy machinery). The publication discloses a configuration for preventing a rear observation camera of the heavy machinery from damage by various fragments.